As the Cavaliers lick their wounds and prepare for a pivotal Game 3 contest against the Boston Celtics at home, Cleveland needs to spend the next few days figuring out what they can do to right the ship before it’s far too late. Of course, every conversation starts and ends with LeBron James, who has put forth a Herculean effort thus far to help lead the team this deep into the playoffs. James is averaging 33.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 9.2 assists per game in the 2018 playoffs.
J.R. Smith understands that while James is out on the court giving maximum effort, the rest of the teams needs to match that energy, and help make a difference on both sides of the ball. “We have to ramp it up," Smith said, per ESPN. "We're playing too slow. We're making Bron play hero ball, which is tough to do, especially in the Eastern Conference Finals. We got to help him.”
Smith, who is averaging 2.0 points on 12.5 percent shooting from the field in the series, is a primary candidate for someone on the Cavs who needs to help LeBron out on the offensive side of the ball, and he knows it. “With that said, we have to give him an opportunity to make him feel confident to give us the ball so we can make the right plays. We got to help him, and he's got to help us."
The Cavaliers will look to chip away at their 0-2 deficit when they face the Celtics in Game 3 on Saturday night.
